The end of 2013

One week too fast, but year 2013, I'm done with you. You have been fabulous, thank you very much.

It has a been a great year. To recap all the fun moments:

- I got promoted
- My dearest nemo got married
- Survived Venezuela!
- Visited the awesome possum city of Tokyo!
- Went to Krabi 3 times this year!
- Finally had our long over due holiday with the gals
- Went on a cruise
- My lil brother got married
- Shopped / over shopped and got myself a new phone
- Celebrated my birthday all by myself (That's a first!)
- Visited Sydney twice!
- Met some great people / made new friends

And above all, I lived more and complained less.

That's all that matters.

Happy new year people! Cheers to a great new year ahead! xoxo

iLilo

Lil brother!

I have a little brother.. I'm sure I have mentioned before.. In fact, I think wrote about him when I first started this blog, back in 2008.

Wow, time flies. That's more than 5 years since this blog has been up.

I digress. Just five years ago, my little brother was like a new born baby handed over in my hands. He had a terrible accident, where he almost lost his life, or maybe he did. Thank the mighty lord, he is alive today.

Not just alive actually, my little brother is getting married in the next couple of days.

I don't exactly know when he grew up. Or become what he is today. As he has always been my little brother. And I have been too happily playing the role of a big sister.

My brother and I share a special bond. My mom used to say I never left his side when he was born, although I am only slightly older than him. I put him to sleep singing songs for him, and he would happily eat everything I fed him.

As he grew up, I remember helping him with his homework. I gave him private tuitions. I shopped all his clothes. I make all his decisions. In short, he has always been my little brother that I look after.

He has been the sweetest thing in our family. The best to be bullied. And when we almost lost him six years ago, our worlds stopped.

Let's not go there. Point is, he is getting married in couple of days. Hopefully it wouldn't mean I'm losing my lil brother again. I know that might sound really childish and stupid, but really, you can't blame me.

For the very first time, in both our lives, he just said to me.. "Just answer my question, I don't need your suggestions!"

And my heart crashed.



iLilo

Glasses Day!

Like any normal human being with not so perfect eye sight, I wore glasses to work today.

What's the big deal you may think, apparently it is.

I don't know whatever happen to 'if you don't have anything nice to say; don't say anything at all' attitude. Is it just me or it seem to be lacking or even extincting these days.

So I received a lot of unwanted attention. And mixed reactions.

The Ever-So-Concerned said: 
"OMG, what happened? Are you ok?"

Dude! I'm wearing glasses! Not a bandage over my head! I can't see. That's what happened! 

The Always-Trying-To-Be-Nice said:
"Hey, you have nice eyes"

Seriously?? You finally notice my eyes on the day its hiding behind thick glasses and sans make-up?! Really now? Thank you, but no thank you. 


The Rude-Dumb-Ass said:
"Oh, you don't have to show you are aging!"

WTF?! I "aged" when I was 12 you idiot! I've been wearing glasses since then! 

The Not-So-Nice-Neighbour said:
"I'm not used to this look. Can you not wear glasses?"

Seriously! The world revolves around you eh?? 


And to every other dumbo out there who was curious, I said:
"It's wear glasses to work day! Didn't you know?"

And they believed.


Lilo


p/s: totally out of context, but I think the color combination in my post creates some 3D illusion! or maybe it's just my glasses :p

Count your blessings!

Here's me, counting my blessing! (before I start whining in India next week)

My typical day at work.. at 4pm..

Me: What did you do today?

A: I sent one email! You?

Me: I sent twooo!!

A: Waah, let's go coffee?

Me: Let's!

:D

p/s: work started at 10am, lunch from 12-2pm, quick shopping outside at 3pm

Blessed!

iLilo

Ending the year in (my) style!

And I have a brand new phone!

An iPhone of course ;)



And I'm officially done with the year! maybe with the budget for the year

2014, bring it on! ;)


iLilo

Anticipating the day.

I know I tend to over react sometimes.. or maybe all the time.. Like just now during dinner, we happen to be discussing birthdays n making plans.. and I casually opened the calendar on my phone to check what day my birthday falls next year.. I saw a tiny icon with a notification on that day and clicked open..

Without realizing, I gave a loud gasp and dropped my phone to the floor with a loud bang with my eyes popped open..

My friends freaked. The waiters asked if we were ok.

Drama.

Couldn't help it. It freaking said, "Lilo's 32nd birthday!"
(I just went ohmaigod as I'm typing this)

Can you believe it??

Ok, never mind. You don't get it.

But true story.



Lilo

Life as it is..

It feels like we just celebrated new year last month, and its already October end now.

Life seem to be on a roll and traveling at full speed.

I find myself already wrapping up the year in my head, making notes of events and memories. And I'm constantly stopping myself from coming up with my wish list resolutions for next year. And as usual, new year means another birthday, and I start panicking don't know for what reason. (or maybe for reasons that only I understand :p)

As much as I wish life will take a chill pill and slow down, but I like life as it is now. I think I'm finally at peace with myself. I have nothing much to complain (note: why I blog lesser now). I am slowly drifting away from my pessimism and starting to see the other side of coin. (and annoy my friends in the process :p)

I don't know how long this would last, but let's hope the next and last two months of the year will remain kind.

Hopefully I am not jinxing this, but for once, let me say it out loud, I am happy. With life, as it is..



Lilo

Help

Here's a situation.

When you are excitedly presenting in front and you see your audience falling asleep. What do you do?

a). Aim and throw the marker pen at their head?

b). Talk louder so they wake up and listen?

c). Silently sit and do your own more important work (such as stalking random ppl on fb)

d). Ask them to go back early and sleep

e). Feel like a fool and continue presenting!


What would you do?
Unfortunately I'm doing 'e' most times, and on the verge of murdering someone. Or myself.

Aargh. Help. Need ideas.


Lilo

Margaritas and mud pies

Can I not run today?

No!

Hmmph.. Can't you just love me for what I am?

You know you need to run!

I know but I don't want to.

What do you want to do then?

I want a margarita. And a chocolate dessert. Chocolate mud pie to be precise. And with vanilla ice cream. Yes, that's what I want to do now.

*facepalm*

Oh shut up!



Lilo

(Talking to herself, it's one of those days!)

Happy feet!

Nothing makes a girl happier than a pair of beautiful shoes..






















Random recent collection. Of course that's not all.

Btw, it's called an investment or retail therapy.

Oh, and it also helps to fight Monday/Tuesday blues!

Just saying! ;)


Lilo

Nemo's Wedding!

My best friend got married today! It was one of the most beautiful, colourful and fun wedding I've ever been too.

Nemo looked amazingly beautiful and absolutely happy. I must say, I felt like a 'proud parent' today. Can't describe the feeling any better.

In the last 12 years that we have known each other, I've seen her grow from a teenager to a beautiful young woman. Well, we grew together. We have had so much fun, laughter, tears, and memories together. And this day would be the best'est memory ;)

My dearest Nemo,
I'm extremely happy that you are married today. Especially that you are married to Ish. He's the perfect guy for you, and it's obvious in his eyes and every move. He adores you like no one can.

May you have a awesome married life. Have fun like there's no tomorrow and cherish every moment if it. Cheers to a beautiful journey ahead of you!

Love you endlessly.


Lilo

P/s: Lilo can now rest in peace that both her best friends are married and in good hands.

If I can finally sleep tonight!

And stop feeling hungry at odd hours!

They say it takes 21 days to form an habit.. If that's the case, I'm screwed.. I just spent 21 days in a world upside down!

#talkingnonsense #jetlagged #ijustwanttosleep or #willyoupleasewakeup



Lilo

My Caracas Experience..

Just as I arrived and was settling into this city, I came across this quote..

"When you feel like you cant go any further, just know that the strength which carried you this far will take you rest of the way"

Caught my attention instantly.. it seemed very appropriate..

I digress. What I wanted to write about was this city, Caracas, in Venezuela.

So I have been traveling quite a bit in the last 3 years.. or at least what it seems like.. in fact, I dont think I've even been to 20 countries in total, my whole life.. Not the point, but this trip was special for so many reasons..

My first trip to Latin America.. The furthest I have ever been away from home.. the longest time difference I have ever had.. the country that speaks anything but English.. the country with the weirdest currency.. country with the highest crime rate.. country with window-less taxis.. don't even talk about meters in taxi.. country where you cant do this, you cant do that...

Despite all that.. I survived... and I must say I met the most beautiful people here.. no, not good looking people.. Contrary to popular belief, Venezuelans are not as hot as they seem in beauty pageants. But the nicest, kindest and most friendliest people..
People who would go out of their way to help a stranger.. really.. things that I would never do for people visiting/working in my country.. Some thing that I should learn to do more..

It's funny to think, since the day I arrived, or even before, I was constantly reminded to not trust anyone here..everyone was made to seem to look like a criminal, who's just waiting to rob me anytime.. all I got was kindness, genuineness and maybe some "extra caring love" ;)

I don't know if this city is worth a visit, but it sure was an hell of an experience.. Try saying, people don't wake up in the morning wanting to rob you.. you might just survive! I did ;)

Lilo

p/s: Thank you! The beautiful people of Venezuela, may your kindness be returned to you tenfold!

Pregnant ladies from hell

Yes, we get that you are pregnant. But you don’t have to act like it’s the world who screwed you.

However, if you are pregnant, and have a weak heart, please don’t continue reading. (Content below is not baby friendly!)

Just because you are pregnant,
1. You don’t get to have a bedroom look and ‘I-forgot-to-shower-this-morning’ face every day!
2. Wearing a jacket over your pyjamas is not office attire, honey!
3. And so are all the auntiest of aunty clothes you wear to work! There are lot of modern mom stores online these days, in case if you haven’t step out of the house, you know, because you are pregnant.
4. You don’t get to sit as if you are doing a split (read: terkangkang), exposing everything; and as if (quoting my colleague) “your baby’s head is jutting out your vagina all the time!”
5. We don’t really care if you are craving for the pork belly or pork butt. Save that, for the poor soul who screwed you.
6. And no, we don’t want to feel your stomach. You are already touching it million times every day. Leave the baby poor baby alone in peace, will ya?
7. We are not excited for your baby because we keep asking you when you are delivering; we want you to get it over with already. We wouldn’t mind you going on 6 months or forever maternity leave.
8. You don’t get to bitch and snap and throw tantrums, and laugh it off later and blame it on the hormones! (Hey, I’m hormonal too, like every day of my life! Watch out!)
9. And we don’t want to know, how supple your breast is or how soft your vagina is. Really! Too much information, and we don’t give a fck.
10. Trying growing a brain before you start growing a baby.

Sorry for the harsh words, but I’m not sorry you are pregnant. Leave me alone.

Disclaimer: This post is only targeted at certain individuals. And yes, I have had friends who were perfectly normal during pregnancy. For I would forever be grateful ;)


Lilo

Happy birthday Nemo!

Happy birthday Nemo dearest! We love you heaps! xoxo ;)


Pinkscalers

Strange Men & Strangers

I wonder what it takes to msg/talk to a random stranger: Guts? Confidence? Friendliness? Boredom? or is this desperateness?

Nevertheless they never fail to amaze and amuse me..

Seem to be getting this on a daily basis now.. some random pick..







Wonder how can people be so free when I hardly have any time to even catch up with the very little friends I have..


Lilo

Then & Now

I still love high heels and pretty dresses.
I still love margaritas and tequila sunrises.
I still love Sophie Kinsella and Emily Griffith.
I still love How I Met Your Mother (I'm one of those that is sad that Ted has met 'the mother' and the series has ended).
I still love blasting music on the radio and driving fast.
I still love running and dancing.
I still love sexy lingerie and cool cotton sheets.

Many things about me hasn't changed, but life has - drastically.

These days, a sale at FOS Kids is more exciting than a sale at MNG or Zara.

The simplest things bring the most joy - like blowing soap bubbles, getting drenched with little M playing with the water hose on a hot day, watching her sleep so peacefully without a care in the world.

Potty training has become as exciting as an intense football match. The first time she took a dump in the potty instead of her diapers, I was a proud, cheering mom.

Who would have thought.

Not me, certainly.

~Anya~

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday beast! ;)




Have a jolly good one!

You deserved a blog since you are my only fan ;)


Lilo

Malaysian General Election & My Sentiments

Enough already! If you tell me one more time I should be grateful, I would slap you. I would slap you very hard.

What is more saddening than the results of our general election is that, there are still many illiterates among us, who do not seem to understand what a government is or the simple difference between a government and a political party.

To put it in a very simple analogy, we hire a maid to run our household.  The maid (political party) is selected by us, and we give the maid the power to make some important decisions when it matters to the management (government) of your house chores. And we of course pay the maid a salary and perhaps an access to a certain amount of fund (tax) allocated for the household necessities such as groceries and toiletries.

The maid has served for your family for many years, she is doing her job to your satisfactory, and you have no complaints, you can live your life without having to fuss over your household issues and concentrate on your career. You were grateful to her.

Over the years you find out, your maid has been stealing money for her personal use from the fund you have given her access. You find out, she has been abusing your kids while you are not at home. You may also find out that, she has been sleeping with your husband while you weren’t around.

Do you still continue being grateful to her because she still does her cooking and cleaning and you can focus on your career? Do you still continue having her in your house because maybe your parents or your husband thinks, it’s the right thing to do?

If you are fine with your maid wearing designer clothes with your money while you are working your ass off, I’m happy for you. If you can live with your kids being abused and your husband getting extra care, I’m happy for you too. If you chose not to risk this maid because you don’t know how the next one would be, good for you.

Sorry that I am not positive as you. Sorry that I am not as grateful as you. But I am not you.

What I see today is that, I have lost my power. The people have lost their power. The dishonest maid has regained her power. She is in control over me and my household for the next 5 years. And life goes on.

Lilo

Candy crush & Life

10 Life lessons that I have learned from candy crush:

1. Keep trying and never give up and you can only do that till you run out of life
2. Sometimes you just need the right color candy at the right time; just like being in the right place at the right time
3. Whenever you are stuck at a certain stage, you need a friend's help to lift you up, by offering a ticket 
4. You need to crush the bad candies in the game (life) in order to receive new good ones
5. Without your loved ones support, you can only go up to a certain level and be stuck there forever
6. Some people in your Facebook (life) that you usually ignore, come in handy when you need an extra life, say hi every now and then
7. You never run out of time, you only run out of moves. Take your time, and plan your moves, victory will come along
8. Every candy may look sweet, but sometimes, there will be a magic candy hidden among the sweet ones, not necessarily look good, you need to discover the rare ones to achieve new heights 
9. You never know what is the ultimate level you can achieve till you get there, so don't stop, keep going 
10. Or maybe, you are just bored. Do something else.

Lilo

p/s: If you don't play you won't understand. Another lesson, if you cant put yourself in one's shoes, don't judge

Happy birthday Anya!

Dearest Anya,

Well, you are another year older and you haven't changed a bit. That's great because you are perfect just the way you are.

Happy Birthday dearie! Hope you have a awesome year ahead.. We love you! xoxo ;)


Pinkscalers

Giving..

If there's one good thing that I've gained from my current working place, it has to be the people I work with.. One thing I find very interesting, something I've never really experience before is that, people here are some what so generous..

There's always someone giving something out.. To anyone and everyone, for no particular reason.. My desk is full of all kind of things that sometimes I don't even know who I get it from..

There's always someone buying coffee, picking up the bill on the lunch table.. And this are not just few bucks that you can close an eye on.. And this ppl are also not the kind of bosses who picks up the bill to impress the staff and claim it from the company.. And they are also not the ass kissers or simply sucking up since none of us bring any good to one another in terms of work..

I've noticed this for quite sometime, and today out of the blue, one colleague decided to buy us lunch.. So I just casually asked her, why is she paying, is she happy or celebrating something.. And she said, "I was out shopping yesterday looking for something, and I wasn't able to find what I wanted.. I think it's because I don't give enough that I don't receive".

She actually said it very casually, but I found it very deep.. "I don't give enough, thus I don't receive".. Interesting!


Lilo

Conversation with my mother..

Me: Ma, do I look fat?

Mom: No, you don't..

Me: Ma, look at me carefully.. (Pull both cheeks wide, blow face) now, tell me?

Mom: *slaps forehead* you are not fat!!

Me: Ma, seriously.. Ok like this, what if I'm not your daughter, will you then think I'm fat?

Mom: god! Still no!

Me: what if I'm your daughter in law!! Will you then think I'm fat?? Think like an evil mother in law and answer!!

Mom: *slaps forehead twice* no!

Ma: I don't believe you

Mom: You will look ugly if you are any thinner than this..

Me: So I am fat right???! See, it's all your fault, you make me eat, now call me fat!

Mom: one thing I know, you surely cannot be my daughter!!

Me: But whyyyy... :(


Lilo

The end is the beginning is the end

Every year a new year begins.. You wait for the day for as long as you can remember, you stay up, you have a party, you do a countdown and welcome the new year..

Whether you say your resolutions out loud or keep it to yourself, or even if you decide not to make any this year, secretly in your heart, you know, you want, you hope, this year will be a better year.. And you keep your fingers (even the toes crossed)..

And then your birthday comes, without any delay at all.. And hey, you turn a year older.. whether you hide under your blankets on the day or run away to another country, you know, you still turn a year older.. and again, you go on telling yourself, hey, i'm wiser this year, this year it will all get better, things will change, finally I will see some light in the freaking long tunnel..

But hey, guess what.. That's whole load of bullshit.. It never happens that way.. No matter how hard you try.. It doesn't matter how hard you pretend it doesn't affect you.. It doesn't matter even if you keep running away and hide..

It only takes a month, for you to realize, nothing has changed.. Truth is, once again, you just want the freaking year to end.. Again..


Lilo

Drool (day?)

This guy :



This guy:



And this guy :



They were all born January 13. What does this tell you? ;)


Lilo

My birthday!

I know I am getting from bad to worse at this blog.. (I can blame someone for this :p)

Anyway, since it's (was) my birthday, I shall write my yearly birthday blog at least..

Its a 'no big deal day' for many, but I am one of those blessed ones that always get an extravagant birthday celebrations from friends, families and even colleagues without fail every year.. But for some reason, I wasn't in the mood to celebrate my birthday this year. So when an opportunity came by to travel during my birthday, I quickly grabbed it without thinking twice..

And for someone who didn't want to celebrate birthday this year, I had the longest birthday this time.. I had 24 + 8 hours of birthday, thanks to the time difference..

It was a very different experience.. No new clothes, no special gifts or surprises, no good food and I pretty much did nothing.. It was a quiet, yet pleasant birthday.. I guess, I have finally learnt that, it's not how far or near you are, it's the people you have in your life that makes all the difference..

Had so many wishes coming in throughout the whole day, from every corner of the world, thanks to fb..

And I even got a slice of birthday cake, thanks to my housemate, a Chinese colleague who has been avoiding me for few days thinking I'm a Muslim (don't ask me why)..

So I guess, if you are born blessed, you just got to learn to live with it ;)


Lilo

Take a minute to realise it's already mid-Jan 2013!

So firstly, gotta say - Happy Birthday Lilo! My wish for you for this year is that you find peace and happiness in yourself.

I'm not a big fan of new year's resolutions. I've realised I break most of them before January is up. But I do have a couple of must-do's.

#1. I must loose weight! No surprise there, as this is in the top of the list every year. Sigh.

#2 (and most difficult of all) I must visit the dentist bravely.

~Anya~